Driver's Seat

[jaak]

And it did! I don't know what was creaking for sure, but I do know which fasteners seemed to have the room to tighten..

I removed the plastic covers on the left side. First I pulled off the control knobs. Then I took the cover off by pulling off the front edge first. In the middle there's a white fastener that I had to release with a slot screwdriver. There's two tabs that need to be pushed in, to let the fastener come out of it's hole. After that, the back releases by pushing it up.

I also had to release the switch for the pedals. Not too bad if you're comforable with this stuff, but you need to be careful if you've never taken trim off, so you don't break anything. Especially that little white fastener in the middle.

I've rested the knobs on this, on the left and the white fastener is circled in orange on the right.

[jaak]

Once this cover is off, there's another below that comes off with two screws.

[jaak]

Here's what you will see with the covers off...

[jaak]

And the fasteners I tightened. Most were pretty tight, but a few could use a turn or so. You want to make sure they're tight, but not so tight that you strip or shear them. Pay attention to how hard you have to tighten them, and if they move easily, go a bit tighter, but not too much!

I did the three screws at the front as well.

No more creaking seat!

[jaak]

Many of these might be tighted from behind the seat. Move it forward and get at it from the rear passenger area. Adjust your seat so it's a high as possible, to give yourself lots of room.

You will need 10, 12, 14 mm wrenches and a Phillips (star) screwdriver.

You may find the offending fastener, without taking it all apart.

[Eric L.]

Jaak, awesome writeup.

[jaak]

Thanks Eric. There was one picture that didn't come out, that gives a clearer shot of some of the fasteners that go down into the rail, but I think this gives a general idea.

The creaking was driving me nuts, so I was absolutely delighted when it worked!

Now to fix the leaking CVT and that whirring sound... Maybe a new CVT isn't a bad idea! As long as the mechanic who changes it, doesn't mess up something else.

[zebelkhan]

I found out that with the seat all the way down and about the middle of track, it will make the most amount of rocking, popping, and creaking. I think that is because in that position there is less force from the seat motors to keep it tight so it is the loosest. Tighten the screws and bolts with the seat all the way down and and about the middle of the track then when you raise the seat to the position you want, it will make much less noise.

[jaak]

More good info....

I didn't try tightening it in that position as there was a couple of bolts (where the heads are facing away from the side) that were very difficult to get to, as well as the seat rail nuts, where the seat is actually attached to the rail, but it's likely they can be reached from behind and under the seat.

I really wanted to find out what was creaking, but I didn't have the time to go one by one.

My WAG would be the nuts that hold the seat on to the seat rails, as they seemed to the easiest to tighten up and therefore the most likely to have been the source of the noise.

I suspect they would take most of the stress as well. A couple of weeks ago it was occasional, but it got to the point where any brisk right turn would make the left rear side of the seat creak.

[chita1987usa]

I really appreciate the world of knowledge you guys put out here.

No problem on seat yet.. but when you say put a sticky... how do we access a stciky on this forum when time comes that we need it?

[zebelkhan]

Originally posted by chita1987usa
...but when you say put a sticky... how do we access a stciky on this forum when time comes that we need it?

When a moderator decides to make a thread a sticky, it will show up on top of every page of the thread so it can be seen and not get lost in the middle. If this becomes a sticky, when you go to the "problems" thread, you will see it right there with the rest of the stickys...

[Eric L.]

Originally posted by chita1987usa
I really appreciate the world of knowledge you guys put out here.

No problem on seat yet.. but when you say put a sticky... how do we access a stciky on this forum when time comes that we need it?

A sticky just remains at the top of the forum all the time. Makes it easier to find later on.

[zebelkhan]

Originally posted by Eric L.
A sticky just remains at the top of the forum all the time. Makes it easier to find later on.

Heh..we must have been typing at the same time...

[jaak]

When I was looking for clues as to how to fix this problem, this thread seemed to have the most information. (I didn't dig deep, so if someone finds a better one, speak up!)

Right when I said I was going to try and fix it, I made it a sticky.

There's a bunch of them, and I suppose it would be good to clean them up to make documents for the knowledge base. But who ever looks there? I keep forgetting it exists!

Any suggestions as to how this info should be pulled together is welcome. Although, I find the sticky's work pretty well...

[zofsuvs]

Jaak, the alternator stickies relate to an active investigation by the Department of Transportation/National Highway Safety Administration. I don't think we should "bury" this topic right now. I know there's some duplication, but please leave them as is as they serve different purposes. Thanks.